Glass blowing has a special place in my heart. In a way it led to the full timing lifestyle and was the first hobby Lee and I did together as adults. Whenever I get the chance I try and see glasswork and Chihuly is definitely the best in the United States. For years visiting their Garden in Seattle has been on my bucket list but I have never made it happen until I traveled to Seattle to meet my Mom for a cruise and had the afternoon to myself.
I almost talked myself out of it, crazy how often I try to do that. It was a travel day and the Uber was too expensive, but then I gave myself a mental shake and off I went. And oh how glad I was. I couldn’t begin to capture the beauty or intricacy of the glass I saw, but I will tell you that when a small Chihuly bowl goes for a couple of grand, there is hundreds of thousands dollars worth of sculpture in this space. Plus it is at the base of the Seattle Space Needle and the views were a huge bonus. I don’t know if you will get my experience from the pictures I took, but I am so glad I checked this bucket list item.
When you walk in and pay your money, you walk from room to room. These rooms are tight and definitely not kid friendly, and the details on the individual pieces stop a continuous flow. That being said, folks were very polite and they had docents in every room to answer any questions you might have. The very first piece was all in white with crushed glass at the base that looked like snow. Really interesting. I also loved the various bowls in bowls. These pieces are incredibly difficult to do and the artistry blew me away. No pun intended 🙂
The rooms were loosely themed and the the most intricate from my perspective was a gallery with one large piece in the center and large sea themed vases all around. The scope of the center piece was huge (think town hall Christmas tree) but I probably spent the longest looking at the vases. Every time I relooked I saw something new. I actually recommend going through each room twice (that’s what I did) because looking at the pieces from a different angle was very interesting.
One of the galleries had large hanging pieces which completely blew me away. I was by myself so I don’t have many pictures for scale but they were enormous and I was a little nervous walking under them. It was clear all the pieces were mounted with extreme care but my mind couldn’t help picturing what a crash would look like. Not sure what that says about me 🙂
One of the small pass ways had a ceiling entirely done in pieces of glass. I would have loved to have spent more time in the room looking up but again it was a bit crowded and awkward for viewing. Beautiful though.
There was also a room with a huge boat with lots of balls in it. Aesthetically it wasn’t my favorite but I appreciated the craftsmanship.
My absolute favorite room was a huge garden. I loved this room so much both at scale and the individual details. If I had seen nothing else I would have walked away happy. I loved it so much I asked a stranger to take some pictures of me.
I didn’t think anything could compare with the garden room, but I was pretty impressed by a hug atrium with one large piece in it. Not only could you see the Space Needle through the roof, but the sculpture looked different from every angle.
Outside there was also a small garden with pieces displayed in natural dirt and with trees. Some of the scenes were great others not as much, but overall I enjoyed walking outside with the glass.
My only disappointment was the kid doing a glass blowing demonstration was working on small glass work in a tiny area. They don’t have a working area you can watch which I get but it would have been VERY cool to see these artists at work. Anyways highly recommend if you are in the area. Yes the museum is pricey and its small but the level of work is off the charts. I loved it.
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Visited the traveling exhibit at the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville NC recently. Several displays same or very similar. I also loved the ceiling of art. Glad you could enjoy.
Can’t wait to see that also
If you are back in the area again, check out “Museum of Glass” in Tacoma, Washington.
I believe there is a Chihuly permanent display.
It has wonderful and varied displays.
There is a large hot shop that you can watch the artists work.
They have a moderator that interacts with the audience and artists.
You can also watch work in the hot shop online. Museumofglass.org
There is also a nearby freeway overpass that has Chihuly glass mounted permanently on display that you can walk on the sidewalk and check out.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Oh awesome Susan thanks so much that sounds wonderful
I love that place. I notice more every time I visit. Chihuly’s collections of things (lunch boxes, etc.) are very interesting. The outdoor garden and the cafe are great too.
I second Susan’s suggestion, the glass museum in Tacoma is fantastic. There is a bridge outside the museum with a long glass ceiling similar to what you saw in the Seattle Center location, usually with very little foot traffic, you can pause and take as many pictures as you want without being in the way.
I understand how that boat with the glass pieces might not be impressive in the museum setting, we’ve seen very similar Chihuly work in the Denver botanical Garden and the Phoenix Botanical Garden, in a lake setting, very impressive and cool to see outside in a garden. Given that we lived in the Puget Sound for 11 years, we saw a lot of his work and he set the standard for the artists in the area. We are always happy to see a piece or two of his artwork in our travels. It’s amazing to see how many unexpected places it shows up.
The boat would have been cool outside for sure